reffell



March 24, 1964 B. R. A. REFFELL- 3,125,770

INFLATABLE DINGHY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Oct. 10, 1958 /,vvE/v70/Z BRmN R.A. REFFELL I ATTORNEY March 1964 B. R. A. REFFELL INFLATABLE DINGHY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Oct. 10, 1958 //Vl EN7OE BRIAN R. R. R EFFELL ATTORNFY United States Patent INFLATABLE DINGHY Brian Richard Arnold Relfell, Heme! Hemstead, England, assignor to The Walter Kidde Company Limited,

Middlesex, England, a British company Continuation 'of application Ser. No. 766,471, Oct. 10,

1958. This application Feb. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 179,271 4 Claims. (Cl. 911) The present invention relates to inflatable dinghies and in particular to inflatable dinghies of the type which are secured to an airman as a personal pack in a deflated condition.

Dinghies of this type at present in use require to be boarded from the water after inflation and in the event of the wearer being seriously wounded, unconscious or numbed, it would be impossible for him to carry out the necessary operations for inflating and boarding his dinghy.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dinghy which on inflation by the release of gas to it from a gas storage, automatically spreads out beneath the Wearer so that it is unnecessary for him to board the dinghy.

It is well known that a rolled-up flexible tube will have a tendency to straighten outif it is inflated with gas under considerable pressure. The dinghy of the present invention makes use of this phenomenon. The present invention provides a dinghy of the type incorporating a peripheral buoyancy tube of relatively large cross section characterized by a peripheral tube of relatively small cross section and adapted to withstand high gas pressure connected at one end to a gas storage and connected at the other end with the interior of the buoyancy tube and adapted to unfold from a folded condition or release of gas from the gas storage. Preferably gas is released automatically from the storage by means of an inflator device which operates automatically on immersion in water.

The release of the inflating gas, usually carbon dioxide, from a storage container causes a rapid rise in pressure in the small diameter tube and this has the eflfect of unfolding the dinghy and straightening out against the back of the wearer before it is fully inflated.

The diameter of the tube must be so chosen in relation to the rate at which gas is released through the inflator that a substantial pressure is developed in the small diameter tube. At the same time there must be sufficient restriction in the tube to permit the internal pressure to build up to a suflicient value. In some cases it may be desirable to position a non-return valve, which serves also as a restrictor, at the outlet end of the small diameter tube.

The dinghy itself is preferably of a conventional design in which the buoyancy tube is of larger section at the stern than at the how. The gas cylinder and release mechanism are preferably secured to the underside of the bottom of the dinghy and the gas is preferably led into one end of the high pressure tube through a non-return inlet valve. The high pressure tube passes round substantially the whole periphery of the dinghy and is connected with the interior of the buoyancy tube at a point close to the inlet end of the high pressure tube.

Since the head of the wearer Will be at the stern end of the dinghy and his feet at the bow, it is desirable that the stern end of the dinghy should inflate first and that initially the dinghy should straighten out in a somewhat vertical position. The leading of the inflating gas into the stem end of the buoyancy tube assists this. The straightening out of the dinghy in this manner is further assisted by arranging that the survival pack is secured to the dinghy near the bow so that its Weight helps to drag out the bow end of the folded dinghy to help it to unfold and to straighten out.

3,125,770 Patented Mar. 24, 1964 ice One construction of dinghy is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an inflated dinghy in an inverted position.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the inflated dinghy taken substantially along the line 22 in FIG. 1 but with the dinghy in its upright Position.

FIG. 3 is an underneath view of the dinghy in the packed condition.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the packed dinghy with the pack partly removed.

FIG. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-5 on FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 66 on FIG. 5.

The dinghy shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is of a generally conventional construction comprising a buoyancy tube 1 and a floor 2. The cross section of the buoyancy tube 1 decreases from the stern end to the bow end in the known manner. A high pressure flexible tube 3 of relatively small cross section is secured by means of a fabric strip 4 to the outside of the buoyancy tube.

The inflating gas is supplied from a cylinder 5 held by a fabric loop 6 to the bottom of the floor 2. The release of gas from the cylinder 5 is controlled by an inflator 7 which operates automatically on immersion in water and may also be operated manually and is constructed in principle as described in United States Patent No. 2,894,658, although other forms of automatic inflator could be employed. The gas from the cylinder 5 first passes to a pressure operated release box 8, which has the function of releasing the cover in which the dinghy is packed. The release box 8 hangs freely and is connected to the inflator 7 by a hose 9 and to the inlet end of the small diameter tube 3 by a hose 10. Gas entering the tube 3 passes around the periphery of the dinghy before it enters the buoyancy tube 1 at a restricted passage 11. The diameter of the tube 3 is matched to the rate of release of gas from the cylinder 5 so that a pressure builds up in the tube 3 suflicient to unfold and straighten out the dinghy.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the gas under high pressure is introduced from the hose 10 to the tube 3 through an elbow 13 having one end secured to the hose 10 and having an opening 19 at its other end within the tube 3 facing the stern of the dinghy. At the point 11, just forward of the elbow a small aperture provides fluid flow communication between the tubes 1 and 3 so that the gas which has passed around the tube 3 enters the tube 1 and effects inflation of the buoyancy tube 1 at a reduced pressure. The bend of the elbow serves as a partition between the opening 19 and the aperture at 11.

The unfolding and straightening out of the dinghy is assisted by the weight of the survival pack 12 hinged to the bow end of the dinghy by a short length of fabric 14, as shown in FIGURE 2. The survival pack is omitted from FIGURE 1 for clarity. When the dinghy has been successfully inflated the survival pack can be hauled up into the dinghy over the bow.

The structure of the dinghy is completed by three water pockets 15, which are provided for stabilization.

As may be seen in FIGURE 4, the dinghy is packed in a cover 16, the top of which is secured to the person of the user. The diagonal folded bottom part of the cover is provided with four elastic straps 17 having one end releasably attached to mechanism within the release box 8, so that When the straps are released by the mechanism the folds of the cover fall away and the dinghy is released. Since the release box 8 is gas-operated the inflator 7 must be exposed for contact with the water, as shown, and for manual operation.

The folding of the dinghy can be seen in FIGURE 3.

The bow end is at the bottom and when the release box 8 has operated, the survival pack 12 falls away and drags down the bow end of the dinghy to assist it to straighten out.

The packed dinghy would be secured to the person of the wearer under his seat, so that the dinghy opens out automatically underneath him on immersion if he descends by parachute in the normal position. The cover 16 is secured to the floor of the dinghy by means of a catch (not shown) and this catch may be released by means of a release handle 18 to free the cover (and thus the airman) from the dinghy.

This application is a continuation of United States application Serial No. 766,471, filed October 10, 1958, now abandoned.

I claim:

1. An inflatable dinghy adapted to be stored in folded condition comprising a generally annular buoyancy tube, a second tube of smaller cross section than said buoyancy tube adapted to withstand high gaseous pressure secured to said buoyancy tube along the peripheral wall thereof, and means for introducing gas under high pressure into said second tube to flow therein in a single peripheral direction from a point therein, said tubes having cooperating restricted fluid flow connecting means therebetween located at a point adjacent the point where the gas is introduced but spaced in the direction opposite to the direction in which the gas is introduced, whereby the high pressure gas entering said second tube will inflate the same to unfold and straighten out the dinghy and the gas having completed its flow through said second tube will pass through said fluid flow connecting means and enter said buoyancy tube at a lower pressure to inflate the same.

2. An inflatable dinghy according to claim 1, wherein said gas introducing means include an opening in said second tube and a partition between said opening and said fluid flow connecting means.

3. An inflatable dinghy according to claim 1, having two ends, wherein said gas introducing means and said fluid flow connecting means are located adjacent one of said ends to inflate the other end of said second tube first.

4. An inflatable dinghy adapted to be stored in folded condition comprising a floor, a generally annularly arranged buoyancy tube surrounding said floor, a second tube which is elongate and of smaller cross section than said buoyancy tube and is constructed and arranged to withstand high gaseous pressure, said second tube being secured to said buoyancy tube and extending along the periphery wall thereof and being foldable therewith, and means for introducing gas under high pressure into said second tube to flow in a lengthwise direction within said second tube and extend the same to unfold and spread said buoyancy tube, said tubes having cooperating restricted fluid flow connecting means therebetween at a location sufiiciently downstream of the point where high pressure gas is introduced into said second tube whereby the gas is caused to first inflate said second tube before entering said buoyancy tube and the gas then inflates said buoyancy tube at a lower pressure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,228,914 Hayford June 5, 1917 2,390,199 Walsh Dec. 4, 1945 2,892,434 Ralleo June 30, 1959 2,993,217 Switlik July 25, 196 1 

1. AN INFLATABLE DINGHY ADAPTED TO BE STORED IN FOLDED CONDITION COMPRISING A GENERALLY ANNULAR BUOYANCY TUBE, A SECOND TUBE OF SMALLER CROSS SECTION THAN SAID BUOYANCY TUBE ADAPTED TO WITHSTAND HIGH GASEOUS PRESSURE SECURED TO SAID BUOYANCY TUBE ALONG THE PERIPHERAL WALL THEREOF, AND MEANS FOR INTRODUCING GAS UNDER HIGH PRESSURE INTO SAID SECOND TUBE TO FLOW THEREIN IN A SINGLE PERIPHERAL DIRECTION FROM A POINT THEREIN, SAID TUBES HAVING COOPERATING RESTRICTED FLUID FLOW CONNECTING MEANS THEREBETWEEN LOCATED AT A POINT ADJACENT THE POINT WHERE THE GAS IS INTRODUCED BUT SPACED IN THE DIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE GAS IS INTRODUCED, WHEREBY THE HIGH PRESSURE GAS ENTERING SAID SECOND TUBE WILL INFLATE THE SAME TO UNFOLD AND STRAIGHTEN OUT THE DINGHY AND THE GAS HAVING COMPLETED ITS FLOW THROUGH SAID SECOND TUBE WILL PASS THROUGH SAID FLUID FLOW CONNECTING MEANS AND ENTER SAID BUOYANCY TUBE AT A LOWER PRESSURE TO INFLATE THE SAME. 